1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electrical device housing assemblies, and particularly to recessed electrical device housings.
2. Technical Background
With the advent of commercial electronics, consumers have sought to purchase various types of electronic equipment to provide entertainment for themselves and their families. Home entertainment electronics initially included nothing more than a radio receiver or a record player. But by the early 1950's, many homes included a black and white television set. The only electrical connection for radios and televisions was a simple electrical plug that was inserted into an electrical outlet for 120 VAC electrical power. Media content was delivered to the radio or the television by RF signals broadcast over the air. Over time, however, home entertainment systems increased in complexity as new kinds of audio-visual electronics were introduced.
Nowadays, broadcasting RF television signals directly to the TV receiver has become largely passé. Most home entertainment systems typically include a cable-TV or a satellite television receiver. The cable-TV set may receive service from the curb via a coaxial feed or via a fiber optic feed. Both types of units (i.e., cable or satellite) provide low voltage audio-visual signals to the television by way of a cable. The media content can be provided by a number of sources including “game stations,” a DVD or “Blu-ray” player, a computer, and/or a “surround-sound” audio system. If the consumer is an audiophile, he or she may have audio preamplifiers, CD players, “IPods®,” or other such devices.
Many modern homes are now wired to include low voltage telecommunications wiring to avoid having various kinds of unsightly telephony, coaxial, and/or HDMI wiring visible throughout the home. Thus, a home entertainment system may require multiple AC power outlets and multiple telecommunications outputs to accommodate all of these wires.
As those skilled in the art will appreciate, an electrical wiring device must be enclosed in a device box for safety reasons. An AC electrical duplex receptacle is often designed to fit in a single gang device box. But AC electrical wiring devices come in all sizes and a single gang device box can accommodate multiple devices. For instance, a single gang device box can accommodate a switch and dimmer assembly, and a switch in combination with a single receptacle outlet. On the other hand, multi-gang electrical wiring device boxes may be employed. One example of this is when two or more electrical duplex receptacles are required; two duplex receptacles are often mounted side-by-side in a two-gang device box. If three such devices are employed, a three gang device box may be required, and so on and so forth. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that low voltage telecommunication wiring devices typically do not require device boxes. Instead, as shown in FIG. 1, an adapter 1 may be employed to mount the low voltage electrical wiring device to the wall. The user typically removes a rectangular portion of dry-wall where telecommunications service is desired. The telecom wires are inserted through the rectangular aperture of the adapter 1 and it is then inserted into the wall opening. The adapter includes a pair of screw-type mounting brackets 2. When adapter 1 is in place, the installer will turn the screw brackets 2 such that the flange 4 captures the drywall there between. At this point, a low voltage telecommunication device is mounted to the adapter 1 by mounting screws that are inserted into the threaded screw holes 3.
Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that there must be a physical barrier between AC power devices and low voltage telecom devices to prevent AC power from being inadvertently propagated on telecom wiring. Such an occurrence is unexpected and would lead to shock or electrocution. Thus, conventional wiring systems include a device box for AC electrical wiring devices and a separate adapter for low voltage telecom wiring. Both the AC electrical device and the telecom device are typically mounted flush with the drywall. This is undesirable because it is both unsightly and potentially dangerous, since an electrical plug extending perpendicularly from the wall may become partially exposed for various reasons.
FIG. 2 is an isometric view of another approach that has been considered. In this view, an old work mounting box 1 includes a first opening 6-1 that is dedicated to an AC electrical wiring device and a second opening 6-2 that is dedicated to telecommunications devices. While this represents an improvement over the device depicted in FIG. 1, there are several drawbacks. First, the box 1 offers no modularity because first opening 6-1 is dedicated to accommodating a device box for an AC electrical wiring device and the second opening 6-2 is dedicated to telecommunications devices (Note that connection tabs 6-3 accommodate the mounting screws for a telecom device). Moreover, the mounting surface 7-2 is not employed. In addition, the 2-gang opening 6-2 is parallel to the frame 1-1 (and hence the drywall). However, this is not an efficient use of space and results in a relatively large non-compact device box.
What is needed is a compact modular housing assembly that is configured to efficiently accommodate either AC electrical devices or telecom devices in a single recessed compartment, or both AC electrical devices and telecom devices in a single recessed compartment while providing the requisite electrical isolation between AC power devices and telecom devices. Moreover, a modular housing assembly is needed that can adaptively accommodate the wide variety of electrical wiring devices and telecom devices described above.